2 A Day update

Two weeks into my 2 A Day challenge and it is going pretty good.  In the past 2 weeks I have completed 21 workouts in the last 14 days.  A little bit under the possible 28 workouts but still a step in the right direction.  21 workouts in 14 days still works out to 1.5 workouts a day.  Work got a little busy this week and I missed out on my daytime workout.  The last couple of nights have been really great though for getting in my second workout.  Doing one intense workout a day and one recovery has me living in my compression tights and socks to aid in recovery. 

We have a very busy week coming up with several appointments for the new baby and a couple for home reno projects.  Luckily I am off work the majority of this week and will have alot of time to get in some quality work. 

The indoor season started yesterday with the Last Chance meet at the University of Alberta.  I was not expecting to race and did not.....plus I was working.  Capital City had some really great results from some of our younger athletes.  There is another meet this weekend at the University and  no I am not racing. 

I like being an experienced athlete and knowing when I am ready for competition and when I am not ready.  I remember my first full season of triathlon my coach wanted me to get experience.  Experience meant 12 races over the course of our 3.5 month long season.  With experience under my belt I know when I am ready and when I am not.  Because of this not competing does not really bother me that much.  I am just really enjoying training and the variety coach Ron has given me with my workouts.

David

Indoor Season is upon us

November 24 is the Last Chance track meet at the University of Alberta.  It is one of the first track meets of the indoor season.  I do not expect to be racing that weekend as Ron still has me doing sub 100m sprints during most of the workouts.  not to mention I am working that weekend and I still don't have spikes.  I am looking forward to racing, but not at the same time.  I am very competitive and as a 'rookie' sprinter I do not expect great things which is hard for me to go into a meet with that mindset.  Let's face it I have only been track training for the past 3 months and this is not my primary focus. 

As I stare out the window and see the snow covered ground all I can think about is the spring and finally getting to throw.  I am thinking about getting out to throw like I used to think about getting out to ride the bike.  Everyday I go to the track I want to take my Turbojav with me and throw it into the netting, but I want to stick with the workout plans Ron has set up for me.  I trust that Ron and Rob do not have me throwing yet because the have a bit of expertise in training athletes.


David

2 A Day Challenge

Now this title is a little inaccurate.  It is not really a challenge, more a goal to be better.  Simply put, the 2 A Day Challenge is what it says, complete 2 workouts a day.  Well 3 days into it and I am still on track.  Although shift work is making that a bit challenging in the next couple of days.  Not really sure how this popped into my head a few days ago, maybe it was the thought that I was not doing enough to further my strength and ability.  However, I am a firm believer that lifetime mileage pays off in the long run.  What I do today, tomorrow and yesterday will effect how I perform in the years to come. 

Everyone thinks that a workout needs to be hard, intense and make you want to puke.  I have learned over many years of training that sometimes the simplest workouts are just as benificial as the crazy ones.  There is definately a balance but both are equally important.  While training with Ron in September, my lite days were a 22 minute run with a good stretch after.  The run had several pick-ups incorporated into it but was relatively low intensity compared to other workouts.  Every athlete knows that a good stretch session will always make you feel better in the hours and days following training.  So for the past few days I have been trying to balance, work, family and training so that I can reach my 2 A Day goal. 

As I have said before, I am a shift worker.  This means long days and nights at a desk.  Luckily that also means I am practically told by my team leader to take an hour and do something physical.  Fine with me.  So far this week I have had a great weight workout, 45 minutes of core, and tonight I did a sprint workout in our parking lot.  It makes things so much easier at home if I can get my workouts done at work.  Not to mention that while completing workouts at work I am on a strict timeline and dont have time to BS around, the workouts are efficient and hard.  Then when I am at home I have the option for a second workout depending on what is happening.

David

Track struggles

With the snow falling here in Edmonton, training has become a bit difficult on the home life.  The nature of my winter training is a lot of sprint style work.  Not the best to complete on icy sidewalks. 

I am currently working with a group at the University of Alberta Butterdome (200m indoor track) on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  We are meeting at 430pm to start warm-up and start the workout at 5.  The main sets usually end up being at least 60-90 minutes.  Add up the commuting time and I get home around 7pm. 

Not sure how long this is going to last before my wife goes crazy and demands a change.  On the other side of things, if I was still training for Ironman, I would be spending 1.5-2 hours in our basement training.  I guess the difference is that I would be home.  I think it is going to take some time to get used to training with a team again.  With my work schedule it only ends up being 4-5 track workouts a month so I guess it is not really that bad.  I am going to have to have a talk with Ron about things and see what we can do. 

On the positive side I have been having some great weight workouts at my office gym the past few weeks.  Just need to find a way to work on the speed that allows me to have a happy home life.

David